19 years ago today I stood on the old Spion Kop for the last
time. #Electric
Tuesday, 30 April 2013
Monday, 29 April 2013
Hundreds Attend Funeral
Hillsborough campaign mum Anne Williams was laid to rest in
a funeral service attended by hundreds of people today.
Crowds lined the streets outside Our Lady's church in Formby
for the service this afternoon.
Along with family and close friends, Liverpool FC manager
Brendan Rodgers, LFC managing director Ian Ayre and MPs including Andy Burnham
attended for what was described as a "celebration" of her life.
Tributes to Anne, who died aged 62 on April 18, were paid at
the service by her brother Danny Gordon and by Stevie Hart, a Liverpool fan who
tried to save her son Kevin on the Sheffield pitch.
Well-wishers, many sporting Liverpool and Everton scarves
and shirts, gathered outside the church and waited to hear the service, which
was relayed to them via speakers.
During the funeral Danny recalled his childhood in Formby
with Anne and the innocence of their youth.
He added: "We were always taught that anyone in
authority should be trusted.
"What happened to our society when a mum can't send her
son to a football match and rely on his safe return?"
Mr Gordon read a poem written by Anne, which ended with the
lines: "We hoped that justice would come one day, and those who caused us
pain would pay."
A candle donated to the church by Anne in 15-year-old
Kevin's memory in 1989 was lit and placed on her coffin throughout the service.
The congregation left the church to the sound of Sarah
Brightman and Andrea Bocelli's recording of Time to Say Goodbye, before family
and close friends went on to Southport crematorium and later Formby Guild Hall.
As the funeral car bearing Anne's coffin, decorated simply
with the word 'Mum' drove away, onlookers burst in to spontaneous applause.
Speaking after the service, Liverpool mayor Joe Anderson
said Anne must never be forgotten.
He added: "We showed our appreciation to a woman who
has been an integral part of the campaign for justice for 24 years.
"When the story is completed on Hillsborough, she won't
see the final chapter written, but she is an integral part of that story."
Friday, 26 April 2013
Thursday, 25 April 2013
Carra And Owen Reminisce
Jamie Carragher and Michael Owen chased the same dreams as
boys, shared the same aspirations as room-mates, and realised many of their
ambitions as team-mates for Liverpool and England. They bring the curtain down
on glittering careers next month. The Daily Express sat in as the duo
reminisced.
Retirement is around the corner - how does it feel?
MO: I decided before Christmas, but to see it in black and
white and on TV felt different. You watch the interviews with ex-players and
team-mates and that's when it sinks in. The reaction of my family was one I
didn't expect. It was like it dawned on them for real as well. They were upset.
JC: It's the end of Team Owen and the Chrysler.
MO: When I was at Liverpool, my mum and dad, brothers and
sisters, would go everywhere to watch me. Me and Carra used to room together
and he'd ask, 'Is Team Owen coming today?' We bought a Chrysler because it was
bigger than a normal car and could fit everyone in.
JC: My mum has only seen me play four times. One of them was
the Youth Cup final, another my testimonial. She didn't go to Istanbul but
Athens and one of the semi-finals against Chelsea. She'll come to my final
game, though.
MO: Your dad goes to the games, though. Remember Valencia?
(laughing).
JC: We came out of the hotel for the coach to take us to the
ground and all the fans were going mad outside. Then Michael points, 'There's
your dad'. My dad was on someone's shoulders, drunk, singing. Not just standing
there, but on someone's shoulders.
MO: It was brilliant. Carra's dad was leading the encore.
How important have both your fathers been during your
careers?
JC: You cannot do it on your own. You need someone to take
you to the matches, to stand on the line, buy your boots. It might be your mum
or grandfather, but for a lot of players it's your dad pushing.
Michael's father was a footballer. My dad had fantastic
passion as a Sunday League manager and going to Everton.
MO: It's an unforgiving game. If you're not good enough, you
get kicked out. People think you just turn up and you're a footballer; but you
have been lucky to be given what you're given. You earn big money and all the
rest of it; but it is years of hard work and practice, your dad doing miles up
and down motorways.
I'm that taxi service now for my kids. If I scored a great
goal when I was young, I wouldn't be bothered if there were 5,000 people there
just as long as I could look behind the goal and see I'd made my dad happy. My
retirement is part of my dad's life ending as well.
Can you remember the first time you met each other?
MO: I went to Lilleshall and the head teacher would sit you
down and say, 'We're not having another Carragher here'. He was a couple of
years before me and was supposed to have given them a hard time.
JC: School wasn't my strength.
MO: I'd never met him, but the teachers went on about him. I
thought he must be a monster.
JC: Our first match was against Manchester United in the FA
Youth Cup in 1996. He scored a hat-trick and it went from there.
MO: We have almost lived each other's careers. We were
room-mates from the start and there is something different when you are mates
with someone and they're on the ball in a game. You kick it with them. You
share their problems in the team hotel and vice versa. I don't think there's
anything in our careers that we didn't know or understand. I have seen him at
his lowest point. He has been there for mine.
Jamie is starting every game for Liverpool, playing well.
Michael, do you understand why he is retiring?
MO: Of course he could carry on playing. I still think I
could score goals in the Premier League, but they say go out when you're at the
top. There are players who love the game and will continue playing in the lower
leagues, but it holds no excitement for me. That's not being disrespectful. I
understand where Carra is coming from. I'm 33 and I feel I can play for two or
three more years, but to the same standard that I am used to? No.
I'm only going to get slower and worse, and it's frustrating
when you know you were very good and now you are only average. It is painful.
Going on to the pitch doesn't hold the excitement for me like it used to.
Do you feel fulfilled then?
JC: When you look at what has happened with Michael over the
last 12 months, you see people getting little digs in. I don't get that.
Michael burst on to the scene, my progress came in steps. Our careers have been
the other way round maybe but we have still done the same, although I wasn't
European Footballer of the Year. You've done what you've done, whether it was
at the beginning, in the middle or at the end.
MO: I always wanted to go out at as high a level as
possible. Moving to Stoke I thought I'd be able to play more games and score
more goals than I had at Manchester United. Go out with a bit of a bang and, in
my mind, feel good about myself again. It hasn't happened. But I'm proud of
what I've done, if a bit frustrated that injury robbed me of one of my main
assets - pace.
JC: What striker at 33 is as good as he was at 17? People
say look at Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes. Great players. But if they play well
or bad, it doesn't make that much difference to how Manchester United are
playing. If I play badly, I can cost Liverpool a big game. Going into Chelsea,
I was thinking, 'Fernando Torres is quick, can I cope?' An element of fear
comes into the decision to retire, especially being at Liverpool. If I was
somewhere else, I don't think I'd have that.
You secured the FA Cup, UEFA Cup and League Cups together,
played in the Champions League. What were the best times for you?
MO: When we were young, breaking through.
JC: Everything was new, the first of everything. You get in
the Liverpool team, England, win your first trophy. There was a buzz with every
step. Every season I've played I've had targets - this season it was 700 games.
MO: When we were young we were that excited to play a game.
Wake up Saturday, get your suit on, we're going to Anfield, I'm going to score,
we're going to win. It is everyone's dream, but you do lose that once you are
10 years down the road. In the good old days, of 17, 18, 19, you couldn't sleep
you were that excited to play the next day. It has been a gradual process but that
has left me.
What ambitions did you have as room-mates?
MO: The perception is footballers are flicking through
magazines about their next car, talking about girls, planning where their next
night out will be. We were full on football, him especially, desperate to play
for Liverpool and win. If we lost, we'd be gutted. It was worse for Carra, who
had to go into the town. It ruined your week.
JC: It still does.
Michael, people think you didn't have that feeling for
Liverpool?
MO: If I had the head on me now when I was a kid it might
have been different. At the time I just wanted to play in every game, score in
every game, be a hero to everyone and have everyone love you. I didn't do
anything wrong, but, as Carra said, I scored one of the most famous goals with
England not Liverpool.
I wasn't a Scouser. My mum and dad were, but my dad finished
his career at Chester so he set up camp there. There is a little detachment for
me because there were the Fowlers, McManamans, Gerrards and Carraghers. It was
circumstance. It annoys me because my heart was full of Liverpool. Perhaps
scoring in a World Cup, not living in the city and then going to Madrid hasn't
helped.
JC: It's strange when you move. Ian Rush left and came back
a hero. I still feel sorry for Steve McManaman. People say he left for nothing.
Well, you got him for nothing. Michael came for nothing. We got £8m. People say
we could have got £20m. Well, the year before we got Markus Babbel for nothing.
I was disappointed with Michael's reaction. He came back with Newcastle for the
first time - 'Where were you in Istanbul?' Before Istanbul there was Cardiff in
2001 when Michael won the FA Cup for us. People were talking about it for
weeks. That was the best thing that had happened to Liverpool in a decade since
winning the league.
Jamie, you tried to talk him out of going to Madrid?
JC: I said he wouldn't get in the team, with Raul and
Ronaldo there. But he said, 'I had Fowler and Collymore ahead of me at
Liverpool'. I thought, 'Fair play'.
MO: The perception is I went out to Madrid, hardly played,
and came back. I started 20 and came on in 18. You can have no regrets, but I
was driving to the airport and thought, 'Oh sugar'. I never wanted to leave
Liverpool. That needs to be stressed. If I could have gone over for a week, put
the kit on, played with all those stars in that stadium, and then come back to
Liverpool I would have been happy. I thought I'd be like Rushy and come back
after a year. That's what got me through; but then it didn't happen, for lots
of reasons.
How will you feel on the first day of pre-season?
JC: I love pre-season. Come back in, training in nice
weather, a few new signings. It's like the first day back at school. I've told
the lads I'll be texting them pictures of me on the beach when they step off
the plane in Australia after travelling for 24 hours. I know a lot of
footballers let themselves go when they finish, but I can't think of anything
worse. I'll keep myself trim.
MO: Mentally I'm ready to retire. It happens to everyone.
I've other things to try.
Pre-season was about excitement, but towards the end there's
a dread because the clubs I've been at you go to parts of the world for three
or four weeks at a time and it can be quite hard.
Will coaching be on the agenda?
JC: We all look at Ferguson and Mourinho and think we'd love
to be them - on the sidelines, winning games, big trophies - but you have to
think where they started.
Mourinho was an assistant for years. Brendan Rodgers hasn't
just got the Liverpool job. He has been working for 20 years. Would I be
prepared to go and work at an academy? Maybe, but it's not top of my list of
things that I want to do.
MO: It takes over your life.
JC: I'm not sure players in our situation will go down that
road. Maybe if you get a good job straight away, but think of the journeys the
managers have gone on to get to the top. Very few top players now would be
prepared to do that.
MO: Some days you look at what you've learnt and think, 'I'd
love to give it a go'. But then the work you have to put in is a lot. If I'm
missing football, I'll see. But the doubt is whether you can do 10 to 15 years
of hard work to get there.
Sum each other up in just a few words.
MO: Aggressive. And zero tolerance. Passionate.
JC: Greedy...
MO: Get lost.
JC: Scorching pace, great goals and lots of mental strength.
Source http://www.express.co.uk
Wednesday, 24 April 2013
Luis Suarez Gets 10 Game Ban
Today The FA released the following statement:
"Luis Suarez has been suspended for a total of 10
matches after an Independent Regulatory Commission today ruled on a charge of
violent conduct.
"A three-person Independent Regulatory Commission today
upheld The FA's claim that a suspension of three matches was clearly
insufficient and the player will serve a further seven first-team matches in
addition to the standard three. The suspension begins with immediate effect.
"This follows an incident with Chelsea's Branislav
Ivanovic in Sunday's fixture at Anfield (21 April 2013).
"The Liverpool forward had accepted a charge of violent
conduct but had denied The FA's claim that the standard three-match sanction
was insufficient for the offence.
"The incident was not seen by the match officials and
has therefore been retrospectively reviewed.
"Suarez has until 12pm on Friday, 26 April to appeal
the additional suspension, above the standard three matches."
Liverpool Football Club also commented on the decision to
ban Luis Suarez for 10 games.
Suarez took swift action on Sunday to make an unreserved
apology for his behaviour and accepted the charge of violent conduct from the
FA.
LFC managing director Ian Ayre said: "Both the club and
player are shocked and disappointed at the severity of today's Independent
Regulatory Commission decision.
"We await the written reasons tomorrow before making
any further comment."
Tuesday, 23 April 2013
LFC Announce Gerrard Testimonial
Liverpool Football Club will honour Steven Gerrard with a
testimonial match this summer, with all the proceeds from the event being
donated to charity.
The Reds will face reigning Greek champions and European
giants Olympiacos in their only pre-season match to be played at Anfield, on
Saturday, August 3, 2013 (2pm kick off).
The contest is being staged to celebrate Gerrard's
glittering Liverpool career and also recognise his commitment and loyalty to
his hometown club.
Money raised from events celebrating Steven's testimonial
year will be for the benefit of the Steven Gerrard Foundation (SGF), a
registered charity - www.stevengerrardfoundation.org. The foundation, set up in
February 2011, is committed to making a lasting difference to disadvantaged
children and young people in need.
Liverpool's opponents, Olympiacos, have confirmed that they
too will be donating their appearance fee to local charities in Greece.
The fixture has great historical significance for both
Steven and Liverpool. In 2004, in front of a packed home crowd, a stunning late
goal from Steven, saw Liverpool come from behind to beat a powerful Olympiacos
side 3-1 and go into the next stage of the UEFA Champions League. Steven's goal
proved to be even more critical as that same season, they went on to be crowned
winners of Champions League, beating AC Milan in an unforgettable final.
As Steven has spent the majority of his life in Liverpool,
he has seen many of the issues faced by local children and therefore much of
the money generated will go to a range of children's charitable organisations
and projects in and around Merseyside.
Gerrard said: "I am delighted to be honoured by
Liverpool with a testimonial match and particularly thrilled that Olympiacos
have accepted my invitation to play the fixture. Last time we met proved to be
such a memorable game both for me personally and Liverpool Football Club.
"I am also especially grateful that Olympiacos have
truly embraced the aim of this match and chosen to donate their fee to charity.
I am looking forward to what I know will be a fantastic game and a wonderful
occasion."
Evangelos Marinakis, president of Olympiacos, said: "It
is an honour and a great pleasure to participate in Steven's testimonial match
against Liverpool, which shows yet again how the world of football can work
together to build a bright future for the children and the young people of our
society.
"As a socially-conscious club, Olympiacos always seek
to contribute with actions aimed to alleviate people in need, as much as
humanly possible.
"Reaching those affected by the economic crisis in our
home country, we will donate our share to humanitarian, non-profit driven
foundations and community development programmes. We look forward to a most
enjoyable and rewarding match, where everyone is a winner."
Sportcel Marketing, a leading sports and event marketing
agency, have been appointed by Gerrard as the exclusive agency to organise the
testimonial match on behalf of the Foundation.
In addition, they have been charged with arranging one other
testimonial event, with the objective of raising as much money as possible for
SGF over the course of the year.
Rob Owen, director at Sportcel, said: "Having worked
with Steven on his inaugural fund raising event for the Steven Gerrard
Foundation, we have seen first hand the extraordinary impact that Steven has on
those around him and his ability to galvanise support for such an important
cause.
"We are of course delighted to be chosen to help him
once again, in such an important year for him and the Foundation."
Monday, 22 April 2013
Alonso On Future Plans
Real Madrid midfielder Xabi Alonso has admitted he has not
yet made his mind up over his long-term future at the Spanish club.
The former Real Sociedad player has made no secret of his
affection towards Liverpool having played for the Anfield club for five years.
And recent press reports suggest that current Liverpool
manager Brendan Rodgers may try to tempt Alonso back to the club in the summer.
Alonso said in The People: "I haven't yet decided my
future - I am signed to Real Madrid until 2014 and that is my situation."
Source http://www.skysports.com
Follow @Glady_Libs_LFC
FA Charge Luis Suarez
The Football Association has released the following
statement:
"The FA has charged Liverpool forward Luis Suarez with
violent conduct.
"The charge follows an incident with Chelsea's
Branislav Ivanovic in yesterday's fixture at Anfield (21 April 2013).
"The incident was not seen by the match officials and
has therefore been retrospectively reviewed.
"It is alleged that the conduct of Luis Suarez
constitutes violent conduct and it is The FA's contention that the standard
punishment of three matches that would otherwise apply is clearly insufficient
in these circumstances.
"Suarez has until 6pm on Tuesday 23 April to respond to
the charge, thereafter an Independent Disciplinary Commission will be convened
this Wednesday, 24 April."
Friday, 19 April 2013
Suarez Named On Six-Man Shortlist
Liverpool forward Luis Suarez has been named on the six-man
shortlist for the 2013 PFA Player of the Year award alongside Gareth Bale and
Robin van Persie.
The Uruguayan has struck 29 goals for the Reds this season,
with 22 of those coming in the Barclays Premier League - more than any other
player in the division.
Two of his competitors for the prestigious award have
scooped the prize in each of the last two years, with Van Persie honoured in
2012 and Welsh winger Bale the previous year.
Manager Brendan Rodgers insists he is well worthy of a place
on the final shortlist having been voted for by his peers.
"It's great for him and it's also a mark of the
team," the boss told reporters at Melwood.
"He will say himself he has got great support from the
players around him.
"But for him his role and function in the team has been
absolutely outstanding and I'm sure he'll be one of the favourites to win
it."
"The players that have been mentioned are top-quality
players - players like Gareth Bale and Robin van Persie have had outstanding
seasons.
"But I can only look at Luis as a player. I don't think
there is any club in the country that wouldn't want him in their team.
"What he has done for us this season has been amazing.
"He would certainly be my favourite for it - and he'd
thoroughly deserve it."
Also nominated by their peers were Michael Carrick, Eden
Hazard and Juan Mata.
The winner will be announced at an awards ceremony on April
28.
Thursday, 18 April 2013
Ajax Say No Deal Agreed For Eriksen
Ajax have moved to deny reports that they have agreed a deal
to sell Christian Eriksen to Liverpool this summer.
Recent reports have suggested the Premier League club are
close to landing the highly-rated playmaker at the end of the season after
courting his services for some time.
Eriksen's future at Ajax has been the subject of conjecture
for some time with many of the top clubs across Europe linked with the talented
Dane.
The 21-year-old has impressed for Ajax again this season,
scoring 12 goals this term and he is the current Dutch Footballer of the Year.
Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers is keen to bolster his
attacking options and Eriksen is believed to be one of his top targets this
summer.
However, Ajax insist no deal has been agreed with Liverpool
for the Denmark international's signature.
"We will send out a press release when there is an
agreement," Ajax press manager Eefje Schep told Danish TV2.
"Also if there is only a deal between Ajax and the
club. So at this time there is no agreement between Ajax and Liverpool."
Ajax are resigned to losing Eriksen this summer with the
classy attacker turning down the club's offer of a new deal.
Ajax technical director Marc Overmars has reiterated that
Eriksen, who has one year running on his current deal at the Amsterdam ArenA,
has rejected the chance to extend his contract.
"Christian has informed us that he won't be signing a
new deal with us at this time," Overmars told Voetbal International.
"I think that he and his agent will want to see what
options are available in the summer.
Source http://www.skysports.com
RIP Anne Williams
Hillsborough campaigner Anne Williams, lost her
six-month battle with bowel cancer.
Mother of 15-year-old Kevin, one of 96 Liverpool supporters
who lost their lives at the Hillsborough disaster on April 15, 1989, was a
leading figure in the fight for justice.
The Chester native had been cared for during her illness at
the home of her brother, Danny, and his wife Sandra in Birkdale, and summoned
the strength to attend the 2013 Hillsborough Memorial Service at Anfield on
Monday.
It was an act so typical of a mum who simply refused to
accept defeat.
Like thousands of fellow Reds fans, Kevin said goodbye as he
left to travel to Sheffield for the FA Cup semi-final against Nottingham Forest
24 years ago. Like 95 others, the teenager did not come home.
The original inquest hearings into the tragedy in 1991
pronounced that all victims had died before 3.15pm - but Anne uncovered
evidence to the contrary in Kevin's case.
Witnesses reported Kevin remained conscious for as long as
45 minutes after the suggested cut-off time and called for his mother, facts
which instigated a tireless campaign by Anne for the truth.
She was an early chairperson of the Hillsborough Justice
Campaign and later independently established Hope For Hillsborough (For
Justice) in an effort to secure a fresh inquest for her son.
On three separate occasions an appeal was made to the
incumbent Attorney General for a new inquest, only to be rebuffed three times.
The European Court of Human Rights also rejected the case in 2009.
Breakthroughs in the fight for justice were achieved in
2012, of course, when the Hillsborough Independent Panel published its report
and finally revealed the truth of what happened on that fateful day.
Most poignant for Anne was the confirmation from the panel's
findings that as many as 41 of the 96 victims could have been saved, had the
emergency services and police response been adequate - vindicating her
persistence.
Sadly, six weeks after the momentous day at the Anglican
Cathedral in Liverpool, Anne was diagnosed with terminal cancer after suffering
bowel problems.
With the weight of the HIP report behind them, the
Hillsborough families were confident that the original inquests would be
quashed and new investigations ordered.
Anne's ill health prompted calls for Kevin's inquest to be
brought forward, a quest backed by widespread public support but which
unfortunately proved unsuccessful.
All 96 inquest verdicts were then quashed at the High Court
in December 2012 and the Government has pledged that new hearings will be held
at the earliest possible time - with a preliminary hearing scheduled for April
25.
"It's been worth it. I was never going to give
up," she said that day. "I know what happened to Kevin and I want
them to put the record straight, call new witnesses and tell the jury what
happened to him."
She proudly added: "We've made history, haven't we?
We've got that verdict struck and everyone can know now that Hillsborough was
not an accident."
Reflecting the impact she has had on many others in the
battle for justice during more than two decades of campaigning, Anne was
nominated for a national Woman of the Year award in January 2013.
"I've always done it for Kevin and the 95 other
victims," she explained months before her death.
"I seem to have been lucky in that I found everyone I
went to track down. It was as if Kevin was up there helping me to get justice.
There are families who have just hit walls.
"The people of Liverpool, as well as people from all
over the country, have been so generous. There are so many people out there who
care about the 96.
"It hasn't all been doom and gloom because I've met so
many wonderful people along the way, while I have carried on with my life as I
have waited for answers.
"They were wearing me down but I thought: 'It will wear
them down before me!' I knew I was right and that's what kept me going."
Anne may not have survived to see ultimate justice for her
son but her actions have played a significant part in ensuring that 96 families
have moved closer to Hillsborough closure.
She leaves behind two children, son Michael (41) and
daughter Sara (33), and three grandchildren.
Tuesday, 16 April 2013
Bill Kenwright Speech - Hillsborough Memorial
Bill
Kenwright’s speech choked me up yesterday, a proper football man, Solidarity
Has No Colours. JFT96
Sunday, 14 April 2013
Two Hillsborough Tributes Unveiled
Two permanent tributes to the victims of Hillsborough were
unveiled in Liverpool city centre today.
Families and campaigners came together for two ceremonies
ahead of the 24-year anniversary of a disaster which stole the lives of 96
innocent supporters.
The first to be unveiled was an 8ft clock in Liverpool Town
Hall made by renowned maker John Clifton. The clock is frozen at 3.06pm - the
time that our FA Cup semi-final against Nottingham Forest in 1989 was stopped.
The second monument at Old Haymarket is a 7ft bronze
structure featuring the words "Hillsborough Disaster - we will remember
them", along with the names of all 96 fans who died on the Leppings Lane
terraces.
The Hillsborough Justice Campaign commissioned artist Tom
Murphy to create the monument.
Saturday, 13 April 2013
Rodgers Inspired By Dortmund Blueprint
Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers has identified Champions
League semi-finalists Borussia Dortmund as a blueprint for the project he has
undertaken at Anfield.
The German side reached the last four of Europe's elite
competition earlier this week courtesy of a dramatic 3-2 victory over Malaga at
the Westfalenstadion - setting up a semi-final with Real Madrid.
Jurgen Klopp's team, which has been founded on talented
young stars such as Mario Gotze and Marco Reus, had lifted the Bundesliga
championship in each of the previous two seasons too.
It's a success story which has inspired Rodgers. "You
can challenge without spending £80m in one summer," he told reporters.
"Look at the example of Borussia Dortmund, a team that
won the Champions League and then struggled financially. They went out and
rebuilt and it took them four to five years to push on.
"Then they won the league and their European work
suffered. This year you can see they have put their focus on Europe and they
have lost their title. That's a team that has been growing over five years.
"Unless you have got the Manchester City or Chelsea
money and just bring in £70m-£80m worth in one summer to add to a Champions
League-winning group, you need a different way.
"I think Dortmund's is the best way because you are not
just looking after the team but also the club. Of course, supporters will
always look at the team but for me it's bigger than that to have success. It's
about all aspects of the club, so that when you do arrive you are in a strong
position."
A top-four finish in the Barclays Premier League is likely
to elude the Reds this season but the manager expects his team to be better
equipped to challenge in 2013-14.
"It is the hardest step of all," he added.
"Chelsea were sixth last year and look at the
reinforcements they made to get back to that level again. Then look at
Tottenham who were fourth and did not get into the Champions League on a
technicality. They spent £50m just to stay in there.
"It's a big ask, that's the reality, but we can really
push on next year."
Thursday, 11 April 2013
Wednesday, 10 April 2013
Reds Target Drops Exit Hint
Danish ace
Christian Eriksen has hinted he could be about to leave Ajax for one of the
Premier League big boys after insisting his transfer fee will be left to the
clubs.
The
21-year-old Ajax midfielder has caught the attentions of Manchester United,
Tottenham and Arsenal but it is Liverpool who are believed to be favourites to
land his signature.
Eriksen
gets on well with his countryman Daniel Agger and he played with Luis Suarez at
Ajax.
It is
thought Ajax would demand a fee of around £17million for their star man, whose
contract runs out at the end of next season.
The Denmark
international told Dutch newspaper Het Parool: "I read that my asking
price was €20million. That's a lot, yes, but I will leave that to the
clubs."
The hot
prospect made his international debut aged just 18 and has gone on to play 34
times for his country.
Ajax are
three points clear of PSV at the top of Eredivisie.
Source
Lucas Leiva Signs New LFC Deal
Lucas Leiva has signed a new long-term contract with the
club.
The Brazilian committed his future to the Reds by putting
pen to paper on his fresh deal at Melwood on Wednesday afternoon.
Immediately after signing the contract, Lucas said:
"It's another long-term contract that I have signed - but it was the same
feeling as when I first came here.
"I am really delighted to have the opportunity to play
for this club. It's where I think I belong and where I wanted to stay, so I am
very happy and looking forward to a few more years here.
"It was an easy decision because after the long period
of my career I have had here, I would like to give the best of my time to this
club. It was not a difficult decision to make and I am really looking forward
to what will hopefully be a few more years with a lot of success."
Lucas originally joined Liverpool from Gremio in the summer
of 2007. He has since gone on to make 208 first-team appearances, scoring six
goals.
The 26-year-old has since established himself as a firm
favourite among Reds fans.
Managing director Ian Ayre added: "It's fantastic. He
has been such a great servant to the club and I think during the period he went
through with his two injuries, he put so much work into it and the club
supported him through it.
"He just goes from strength to strength. We said
throughout last summer and January, we wanted to keep our best, experienced
players, and this is another great example of that.
"The manager has said several times that as well as
having a great, young squad, it's important we have experience and it's
important we have characters. People like Lucas fit that.
"He'll tell you he's still very young, but in
footballing terms he's experienced and a big part of the team."
Tuesday, 9 April 2013
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